Bitwise Raises Bitcoin’s 2036 Price Target to $1.6 Million

In its October 2026 crypto industry startup outlook report, Y Combinator (YC) noted that over the past year, crypto sector applications have been dominated by institutions rather than consumers for the first time, with core drivers shifting from speculation to practical financial needs such as oil price risk hedging and cross-border corporate fund transfers. YC projects that assets including stablecoins, stocks, debt, commodities, and real estate property rights will undergo further tokenization; new asset classes such as startup equity and small-value securities under $10,000 will also be issued via blockchain, driving the expansion of financial services including trading, lending, and derivatives, while AI agents will become key participants in major financial activities. Over the next six months, YC’s key focus areas are blockchain-enabled financing for the AI industry, niche-market-focused new stablecoins (both U.S. dollar and non-U.S. denominated), stablecoin-based neo-banks, real-world asset tokenization, next-generation trading platforms and interfaces, and AI agent trading and related API infrastructure. YC believes blockchain technology and stablecoins could respectively pose a disruptive impact on traditional stock exchanges and banking systems.

Researchers disclosed a zero-click vulnerability in Telegram’s sticker function at a security conference held in Tokyo, demonstrating that attackers can execute code on iOS devices without requiring any user interaction. However, Telegram has raised objections to the risk assessment of this vulnerability.

Jupiter partners with BitGo to launch institutional validators, enabling BitGo’s institutional clients to stake SOL directly via their existing custodial accounts.

According to an official announcement, Robinhood Chain has added 8 new stock tokens, namely JPMorgan Chase, Visa, PayPal, BMNR, McDonald's, Disney, Uber, and VanEck Gold Miners ETF.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on 10 individuals and one entity. The targets are linked to North Korean IT workers defrauding U.S. companies, with the proceeds funding Pyongyang’s weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs. Sanctioned Russian national Ilya Boykov has exchanged approximately $3.5 million in cryptocurrency for North Korea’s Alis company since 2024. Russian national Vitold Obertas has completed nearly $2 million in cryptocurrency exchanges for North Korean officials since January 2025. Also sanctioned are North Korea-controlled, Russia-based entity FFTDC and its six IT workers, who have generated over $750,000 in revenue since 2025. Australia and the European Union have also taken similar sanctions actions this month.

U.S. midterm elections will take place next week. Prediction market data puts Democrats’ chances of winning the Senate at 64% and the House at 90%. If control of Congress changes hands, crypto policy could shift from pushing legislation to ramping up regulation, and the Clarity Act is unlikely to advance. Democratic Senator Angela Alsobrooks noted a Democratic-led Congress will not prioritize the bill. If Democrats capture the Senate, Elizabeth Warren will serve as chair of the Senate Banking Committee. Wintermute’s Head of Policy Ron Hammond predicts Warren will use subpoena power to focus on reviewing the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)’s new bank license approvals for Ripple, Coinbase, and World Liberty Financial.